Our new Indie Games subforum is now open for business in G&T. Go and check it out, you might land a code for a free game. If you're developing an indie game and want to post about it, follow these directions. If you don't, he'll break your legs! Hahaha! Seriously though.

Our rules have been updated and given their own forum. Go and look at them! They are nice, and there may be new ones that you didn't know about! Hooray for rules! Hooray for The System! Hooray for Conforming!

The hell goes on in here?
Mostly, we just argue about which pokemon are the best, and Fiz talks about the anime and the rest of us have no idea what's going on, and sometimes dudes post bad fanart on purpose. As Gen 5 draws closer, formal construction of a new SE++ Pokemon League will likely begin, and at a prior agreed-upon date some time after the release of the new games, it will be open for battling. More on this as it happens.

Incidentally, which pokemon are the best?
All poison types, Scyther, and Magnezone. The rest rank somewhere below those ones.

What is the newest news?
Well, here is a supposedly leaked list of all the English names of the Gen 5 pokemon. It's not a certainty, but there are matchups between this list and what names have been formally released already, so it's likely. Here is a list of those names matched with pictures and Japanese names. Black and White's animated sprites, for a considerable length of time difficult to find, have been compiled here for easy reference.
Oh hey, this is new: High quality artwork, complete with pokedex number and both english and japanese names. Handy.

But wait, I don't know anything about pokemon!
How the hell do you get off with an attitude like that? If you wish to learn, there are three sources:Bulbapedia, which is pretty much exactly what it sounds like: a pokemon wikipedia. Craploads of information, and fairly user-friendly.Serebii is another option, and probably a faster one for quick browsing of pokemon, but the guy who runs it seems really kinda weird and I don't think I like him.
Finally, Smogon.. This is a bad place. It is all about competitiveness and no fun, but in the interests of giving everyone access to information, I have included it. Just let it be known that if you make use of the dark secrets and cookie cutter strategies contained within, I will disapprove.

Why would you disapprove?
Because pokemon is not about winning. It is about FIGHTING SPIRIT, a bond between man and animal that does not in any way resemble some kind of horrific violent slavery. Strong pokemon, weak pokemon- these are the flimsy perceptions of people. True pokemon masters try to win with their favorites.

Is that it?
No. Now it is time to discuss

THE SE++ POKEMON LEAGUE CHALLENGE

Yes, that time has begun. We have a mere month until Black and White hit our glorious Western shores, where we have books go the right way round and our vending machines dispense only candy and canned beverages. It is time to stir the hype into a frenzy by opening Gym Leader Registration.

What do I need for Gym Leader Registration?
You need to PM me the following:
- The type your Gym will represent.
- A trainer sprite. This need not be a custom job: you can just, say, swipe Giovanni's sprite from HG/SS. If you're real lazy. Just let me know which trainer sprite you want to represent you.
- Your first six pokemon. According to our rules, laid down ages ago, a gym leader can pull any six pokemon of his type from a pool he or she has trained, without warning. These six pokemon are to be the ones you train first, and will be your first available team when the Pokemon League Challenge begins. If you want to host these on your own imagehost, it'd help, but it's not necessary.
- A badge. This is not mandatory, but it helps. Badges look cool. Don't be shy about asking if anyone wants to help you with a badge design; the kind of person who frequents our pokemon threads tends to be suspiciously kind and giving.
- Any other distinguishing information you want to include, like a battle theme.

This information will allow me to produce a stylish formal Gym Leader entry, like those you see below.

Hey, Dichbutt, someone took the gym I wanted! And there are more than eight gym leaders!
And this is a problem how? There can be more than one gym of each type. We can have more than eight gym leaders. Nothing is stopping us. If you want to lead a gym, don't let someone else getting there first stop you.

What if I want to make a themed team that isn't all one type?
You sicken me. But if you must play your deviant games, and want to make, say, a Grass/Fire Forest Fire team, the process will be similar: PM me your theme, a trainer sprite, and your six pokemon. However, if you do not use a monotyped team, you cannot offer a badge, and thus are not technically part of the League. But you're there. In the OP. Like the Fighting Dojo in Red/Blue. You remember, that lame place that wasn't really a gym.

SE++ POKEMON RULES

Yes, it is that time. These rules are not set in stone, and will likely be tweaked and modified by the month of Pokemon Online we will be playing before Black and White hit. If you want to change something here, be active, and demonstrate why it is or is not unreasonable: if you like these rules, continue to do nothing.

- Sleep clause is in effect.
- Species clause. Nobody needed to be told this, but now it's in text.
- No evo stone'd chansey, blissey, wynaut, wobbuffet, or garchomp. This rule is a holdover from last year's League, and new conditions in B/W may cause it to be overturned.
- No formal item clause. Yes, this will annoy the shit out of some of you. However, most of those that are annoyed are going to be veteran trainers. Many people we have battling don't really know what to do with pokemon, and so will probably end up putting Leftovers on most of their dudes. This is not a bad thing. They don't know any better. Item clause will not be strictly enforced, but if you're a skilled trainer taking advantage of it, you will be scorned and you will be looked down upon and nobody will want to battle you.
- We are going to try unbanning legendaries of base stat total 580 or below. Yes, I know there are legendaries of base stat total 600, and there are regular pokemon of base stat total 600. Still. All Gen IV and older legendaries- that is to say, pokemon that cannot breed, and not rotom because legendary music plays when you fight him don't pull that smartass shit with me- below 580 base stats are fair game. For now. In pokemon online. We may reverse this decision. We may reverse it very soon. We're just going to give it a shot. I'll probably regret it. We don't really know what gen 5's legendaries are capable of, so they're still banned. If you want to try them out, and make sure your opponent has ample permission, feel free. This is how we learn.
- Weather is, as of the moment, still acceptable. Drizzle politoed, drought ninetales, both fine. This may be subject to change. Monotype teams have a big problem dealing with weather if it's not their weather, and this may need to be addressed.
- Don't be a dick. This is, bar none, the most important rule. View every action you take through the lens of wondering if you are a dick. Are you a dick? Cut that shit out. This is a big league. We do not need you. If nobody wants to battle with you, nobody will battle with you.

Step 2: When it boots up, don't click "Go Online" yet. First go to Team Builder and set up your trainer/team of six pokemon. Get familiar with the interface since it lets you set everything from EV's to moves to Hidden Power to natures...anything you would want to tweak, you can tweak.

Step 3: When your team is made, SAVE IT, and then exit out of Team Builder and click "Go Online"

Step 4: Our server is unlisted, so instead of using the server browser, use the text box at the bottom of the window and enter "198.166.226.193:5080" (no quotations). Click "Advanced Connection".

Step 5: Upon logging in, click "register" at the bottom to set a password so nobody else can use your trainer name on the server.

From this point on you can battle/spectate/chat in the client. To challenge someone, right click their name in the chat and hit "challenge"; set the clauses you want (Item, Sleep, Freeze, etc) and click challenge to ping them with a battle. If someone challenges you, it'll automatically pop up with the challenge. To spectate another battle, click the "Battles" tab in the main window and double click the battle you want to watch.